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I just decided last night to buy a CPO SL. I finally chose it after test driving both that and the S Coupe - loved the S but it was just too big for me to drive comfortably. I was comfortable in the SL, but in the S Coupe, when I had to make a U-turn at one point, I just felt really AWARE of the size of the car. It was stunning, but just too much car (and too much more money) for me. I have been researching both cars for months and so I know basically what I want in the SL. My problem is that none of the ones near me are what I am looking for. I have found three across the country and one across the state that I liked.
I contacted the upstate dealer and one of the ones across the country, and both assured me that I could have the vehicle shipped to me. I don't doubt that it is possible, I just don't know how comfortable my spouse and I are with the idea of buying a car sight unseen that we have never driven. One dealer sent me some photos, the other did a couple of quick videos. But I feel like while they are helpful, they don't match the examination I would give the car myself.
Have any of you had experiences buying out of state or sight unseen? Do you have any regrets or advice for someone contemplating doing the same? Or would you just keep waiting and hoping to find something locally?
There are lots of Buyers Inspectors out there that for a fee will inspect an out of state car purchase. Pretty cheap to insure what you are buying is indeed what is advertised. Either that or have the dealer fly you roundtrip. Everything is negotiatable ! Good luck they are beautiful cars!
It depends. CPO and/or a PPI is a good backup but you want to make sure that the car meets the basic quality standards. But if you are picky it maybe worth a trip to personally inspect. We have purchased out of state, but only new but even then it was good to have a trusted person check the car out in person (thanks Streamliner!)
Always pay a few $ more to have the car transported in a covered carrier.
Many dealers will fly you one way to buy a car. I live in So Cal.and bought a two year old low mileage Corvette that was in AZ. They paid for my flight one way and picked up cab fare from the airport to the dealership. I paid for my wife to join me on the flight. All worked out well except when they priced the car on the phone, they did not disclose an added dealer fee of $500 to sweeten the deal for themselves. I should have insisted on a detailed invoice emailed to me, so I could see all of the details and know exactly what the car was costing me. The car was as pictured/advertised so we took it and drove it home which was about a seven hour drive. In the end, I was very happy with the car. Good Luck.
I have purchased (and traded a vehicle for) at least 4 CPO cars out of state and my current CLS53 new but sight unseen from a MB dealer while living in Colorado. I paid for shipping in all cases. Every experience was excellent. Here are the details:
Purchased an SLK55 with European Delivery
Traded the SLK55 for a CPO CLS550, both sight unseen by by and the SLK55 from the dealer (Isringhausen, Springfield, IL)
Traded the CLS550 for a CPO CLS63S, both sight unseen by me and by the dealer (MB of Carlsbad, CA)
Traded the CLS63S for a CPO GTS, both sight unseen by me and by the dealer (MB of Rockville Centre, Long Island NY)
Traded the GTS for a CPO GLA250 and $60K, both sight unseen by me and by the dealer (MB of Santa Barbara, CA)
Traded a leased GLC300 for my current new CLS53 through MB of Westminster CO with the CLS53 sight unseen.
All of these were excellent with absolutely no problems. As long as you are dealing with a MB dealer and a CPO or new car you should be fine.
Contact a reputable shipper and decide if you want a covered container like pictured in the attachment (my GTS coming off the PLYCAR trailer.) I highly recommend PLYCAR. They use their own trucks. You tell them your shipping needs and they will find a truck that can add your vehicle to an existing route.
Here is info on SALES TAX which I posted in 2017 that may be helpful:
Sales Tax is another issue and depends on your state. Utah gives credit for a trade so for example, if you are buying a $60,000 vehicle and trading a $20,000 vehicle, you pay sales tax on $40,000. If the trade in is worth more than the purchase price of the new vehicle, you pay no sales tax.
But here's the catch -- some states want their sales tax, independent of your situation. Or they may collect what they think the tax due in your state is, forward it to your state's DMV and leave you to settle up with your DMV when registering the car. Here are some specific examples from my experience:
- Traded a CLS63S for my GT S to MB of Rockville, LI New York -- shipped both car via PlyCar. The trade's value was less than the new car (GT S), so the NY dealer collected the estimated Utah tax. Turns out they collected several hundred dollars too much, so I was due a refund from UT which I did receive several weeks after registering the GT S.
- It's worse in California -- no surprise! I am currently trading my GT S for cash back and a CPO GLA250 (waiting for the next generation of MB's with the 48 volt accessories and 70,000 rpm electric turbo.) Obviously, the GT S is worth more than the CLA250, so I owe no UT sales tax. However, California wants CALIFORNIA sales tax on the full purchase price if the purchased vehicle is DRIVEN AWAY in CA, independent of any trade in. And the CA tax is 11-12% vs. the UT 6.35%. So if you are buying a CA car from out of state, you should have it shipped rather than picking it up and driving away. In my situation where the trade's value is more than the purchase and no UT tax is due, the MB dealer is struggling to comprehend that no tax may be due and expects to collect the estimated UT tax. I am expecting that they will eventually determine that in fact, no UT tax is due and that they will not insist on collecting any.
In any case, you can see that Sales Tax is another issue that you need to consider and resolve as part of any out-of-state purchase. Hope this helps.
We bought out of state. My wife wanted a 2017 or later year because of the improvements and updates in 2017.....and she wanted blue. So finding that combo in state would have been impossible... We thought that for what we were spending that she should get what she wanted.
It was not all that hard to do. Ours is a Mercedes leased car that Mercedes sold when it came off lease so it was maintained properly.
The problem as stated above is taxes. We found one in Florida and when we got the final numbers we found that we were going to have to pay taxes both in Florida and pay taxes again in our home state when we got tags, so we kept looking... Later, we found one in Georgia and they reciprocate with our home state and that worked better. Florida did not.
We handled everything by overnight mail. Paid a deposit to hold the car with purchase dependent on our approval. We happened to have a friend in Atlanta that went by and inspected and drive it for us. We flew in and picked it up... Was not as easy as buying off the lot, but was not bad. It has become a more common way to purchase.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee and recently bought a Genesis G90 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We had a trade-in as well.
In Tennessee, you get a "sales tax credit" for the amount of your trade-in, and only pay sales tax on the purchase price less the trade-in value.
The dealer in North Carolina handled the entire transaction with Tennessee, and coincidentally, I just received my Tennessee title in the mail today, and my new Tennessee license plate arrived last wek. I gues they did it right.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by ZCARGUY
I live in Nashville, Tennessee and recently bought a Genesis G90 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We had a trade-in as well.
In Tennessee, you get a "sales tax credit" for the amount of your trade-in, and only pay sales tax on the purchase price less the trade-in value.
The dealer in North Carolina handled the entire transaction with Tennessee, and coincidentally, I just received my Tennessee title in the mail today, and my new Tennessee license plate arrived last wek. I gues they did it right.
Took about a month from purchase date.
Was it a new model G90? If so, I believe many folks over on W222 would like to see your review of the car, I know I would.
Was it a new model G90? If so, I believe many folks over on W222 would like to see your review of the car, I know I would.
Yes. 2020 Genesis G90 V8 AWD Ultimate. Also own a 2016 Hyundai Equus V8 which my wife drives now. Both fine cars and good values if you can buy preowned or get a good discount. We bought both new, the Equus was discounted 30% and the G90 15% off. Both were a year old when purchased. No issues or complaints with either. Dealer service at local Hyundai dealer has been excellent, but certainly without the ambience of a luxury car dealership. Cross shopped a pre-owned current model S-class before buying the G90. Comparable except for the massaging seats and some other features that we didn't care about. The 5 year 60k mile warranty is a big plus, and 3 years free maintenance, which is still far less costly than Mercedes service after that. The G90 rides great, is plenty quick (has 420hp), is really nicely finished inside and out, and is extremely quiet. No regrets so far. And I love the wheels.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by ZCARGUY
Yes. 2020 Genesis G90 V8 AWD Ultimate. Also own a 2016 Hyundai Equus V8 which my wife drives now. Both fine cars and good values if you can buy preowned or get a good discount. We bought both new, the Equus was discounted 30% and the G90 15% off. Both were a year old when purchased. No issues or complaints with either. Dealer service at local Hyundai dealer has been excellent, but certainly without the ambience of a luxury car dealership. Cross shopped a pre-owned current model S-class before buying the G90. Comparable except for the massaging seats and some other features that we didn't care about. The 5 year 60k mile warranty is a big plus, and 3 years free maintenance, which is still far less costly than Mercedes service after that. The G90 rides great, is plenty quick (has 420hp), is really nicely finished inside and out, and is extremely quiet. No regrets so far. And I love the wheels.
Funny you should ask, just today I did. Like Panama, I placed a deposit pending approval with the one in Northern California. It was not an objectively good deal, but subjectively it is the perfect car for me. Many more miles and more expensive than I wanted, but it had my three must have features - Diamond White, nappa leather and Magic Sky. So the deposit is down, they are FedExing papers and I will fly up there in about ten days to drive it and approve the final purchase.
I cannot thank all of you enough for your insight, it really helped me make my decision. The cautionary tales and advice on taxes made a CA vehicle the only one for me. This was my dream car when my grandfather took me for rides in his when I was 10 years old. I am overjoyed that almost 40 years later, I will get one too.
Funny and not so funny note, my search prompted my mom to want one too. So she got a 2016 Diamond White SL last week. Driving it home something came off a truck and crashed into her windshield. Thank God we were both okay. The SL not so much. The new windshield will be installed next week. And at 80mph no license plate for the truck so she is out of pocket as her deductible is sky high. At least when it was fixed and I get mine, we will have a matching pair (even if I wish she had chosen something else). Like mother, like daughter I guess.
Funny and not so funny note, my search prompted my mom to want one too. So she got a 2016 Diamond White SL last week. Driving it home something came off a truck and crashed into her windshield. Thank God we were both okay. The SL not so much. The new windshield will be installed next week. And at 80mph no license plate for the truck so she is out of pocket as her deductible is sky high. At least when it was fixed and I get mine, we will have a matching pair (even if I wish she had chosen something else). Like mother, like daughter I guess.
Yikes! I think I'm voting for "not so funny." Unless of course what came off the truck *was* the license plate. Now that's irony!
A similar thing happened to me the second day I had my Volvo. Thank goodness it wasn't the SL — although as it turned out the Volvo windshield was nearly as expensive as an SL windshield. 😕
We had a hit and run at a Trader Joe's parking lot on the first weekend of our then brand-new custom-ordered 2017 SL. Of course the dash cam hadn't been installed yet. No fun but not a big deal. Most important is that everyone is safe...
I've done it twice. I'm in Florida and I bought a Jaguar XK coupe from a Chicago dealer and a Jaguar XKR coupe from a dealer in Nashville. Both turned out fine, though I did have them both checked out by a buyers inspector. If you get a pro to check the car out, you should be fine.
I've recently bough two Lexus LS 460 from reputable dealers out of state and had the cars shipped to me, no problems whatsoever, also bought Audi and BMW in the past also problem free, an inspection would probably help, depending on the dealer reputation.
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